Kanem c. 1100, according to Yves Urvoy. While his chronology is questionable and his study of Kanem-Borno reflects the colonial era in which it was produced, it remains an important source. The "Bagama" were the "Black Berbers" of al-Bakri, but some of the other named peoples or kingdoms in this map may not have existed in 1100. One of the well-known polities of medieval Africa that, surprisingly, seems often overlooked, is that of Kanem. Take the recently published African Dominion by Gomez, for instance. His study of the famous civilizations that existed in the "Western Sudan" region along or near the Niger only references Kanem a few times. Sure, Kanem was part of the "Central Sudan" and probably culturally (and linguistically) different from most of the peoples to their west (with the possible exception of a few Nilo-Saharan speakers like the Songhai). But one would think the early conversion of Kanem's royalty in the 11th century and their state's longevity (or at least the longevity of the Sefawa dynasty of Kanem and Borno) would attract more interest. Is it, perhaps, due to the ignominious "honor" of Kanem's alleged reliance on the slave trade for its trans-Saharan economic relationships? Or, is it due to the general ignorance of most Westerners of the regions between the Niger and the Nile? Or is it partly a result of the questionable reliability of the Girgam and chronicles of Kanem-Borno, surely reflecting a pro-Sefuwa outlook? Surely, the Borno state of the Sefawa dynasty, which relocated to the areas southwest of Lake Chad by the late 14th century, has attracted much attention from scholars, particularly on the topics of Islam, diplomatic ties, trans-Saharan and trans-Sudanic links, and regional economies in the "Central Sudan."
So, let's shift our focus back to Kanem, its obscure origins, and the foundations of the well-known Borno empire of more recent centuries. It is difficult to trace the origins of Kanem, as the earliest Arabic references to it are probably from the 7th or 8th centuries. Arabic external sources allude to it as a kingdom of the "Zaghawa" people, which is probably a reference to a plethora of nomadic "black" Saharan and Sahelian populations north and east of Lake Chad (Tubu, Zaghawa, Teda, ancestors of the Kanembu and Kanuri peoples). However, there may be references to groups related to the founders of Kanem from the time of Herodotus and Antiquity. For instance, the "Ethiopian" troglodytes hunted by the Garamantes, according to the "father of History," may very well have been ancestors of the Tubu peoples, who are known to have resided in caves of the Tibetsi region during winter months. It is also likely that the carbuncles used by pharoanic Egypt and traded by the Garamantes came from the land of the Tubu peoples, who very well could have become part of the Garamantian trading network in the Fezzan and central Sahara. Additional obscure references to the lands north of or near Lake Chad may be the account of Julius Maternus's trip to Agisymba with the king of the Garamantes in the first century of our era. If "Agisymba" was a province of the Garamantian network or subject kingdom that rebelled, perhaps in the vicinity of Lake Chad, as suggested by Lange, then it could very well be an early example of long-distance trade networks across the Sahara between what would later become parts of Kanem and the Libyan Fezzan. Since little is known about the Garamantes themselves, perhaps some of their population or at least trading partners were the forebears of groups like the Goran.
While the nature of contact between the Garamantes and the peoples to their south remains a topic of debate, it is likely that the Garamantes were known to the nomadic or semi-nomadic populations north of Lake Chad. Indeed, the very name Kanem points to the region as the "south," with a founding dynasty likely from lands further north. Perhaps the Garamantes and groups who were ancestors of the Tubu, Zaghawa, Kanembu, and related peoples collaborated through trade. The question of the origin of the Garamantes themselves may point to ancient intermarriage with Saharan populations akin to Tubus, perhaps resulting in "mixed-race" populations similar to those existing among some of the Tuareg and Saharan or Sahelian populations of today. While the Tubus were nomadic groups, a relationship based on trade or mutual interest could have aligned them with sedentary groups like the Garamantes, who relied on intensive irrigation as the basis for their towns and villages in the Fezzan's oases. Perhaps they provided captives to the Garamantes for agricultural labor, too, raiding their neighbors for slaves to incorporate in their own society and to sell to the north.
It is possible a similar dynamic existed with peoples to the south, who may have come to rely on nomadic Nilo-Saharan speakers to protect their villages and trading caravans, provide cattle or watch livestock and establish, if possible, direct ties with the Fezzan and areas to the north and east. This could explain why Leo Africanus and others claim the kings of Borno, the Sefawa dynasty, were descendants of the Berdoa of Libya, probably a reference to the ancient northern origins of the Kanem-Borno kings among the nomadic groups of the Central Sahara and their trading allies to the north. Indeed, references to Christianized populations in the Tibetsi area in external Arabic accounts may also reflect a close relationship between the Garamantes and Goran, allegedly converted to Christianity in the second half of the 6th century. Palmer's Sudanese Memoirs also include origin stories in which the people of Borno claimed descent from Christian Aksum, which Palmer believed was a reflection of the Christian past of some of the early contributors to the making of the Kanuri peoples. Of course, there is no evidence for any Christian origins of early Kanem, but nomadic groups whose people contributed to the confederation or alliance of clans that ruled during the so-called Duguwa dynasty reflect matrimonial alliances between the ruling Magumi clan and Tubu-Deza peoples (as well as the Zaghawa). They also would have likely encountered Christians in the Fezzan and Nubia, which might explain place names like Qasr Umm Isa. Clearly, the origins of Kanem, in part, owe much to nomadic populations to the north, unlike the mostly sedentary populations of the Soninke who developed Wagadu/Ghana to the west.
Of course, any attempt at elucidating the origins of Kanem-Borno must take into consideration proto-urban and urban sites south and east of Lake Chad. With increasing signs of social complexity and ironworking around Lake Chad from 500 BCE to 500 CE, the peoples of the lands south of the nomadic peoples were also transforming their settlements and social organization. Sites like Zilum, for instance, were walled settlements with thousands of inhabitants, showing evidence of craft specialists and, perhaps, cultural influences from afar. For instance, Koro Toro pottery, said to resemble Meroitic pottery, (maybe only through the use of geometric designs) in Chad very well could reflect a movement of ideas or cultural exchange with Nubia. The horses and donkeys used in the Lake Chad basin region probably also came from Nubia or Egypt. The use of fortifications at sites in the Lake Chad basin also point to conflict, perhaps between early city states (the so-called "Sao") possibly in conflict over resources or trade, or with incoming herders from the north. But relations between nomads and sedentary farmers were not always based on conflict, and early Kanem was a multiethnic state consisting of farmers as well as pastoralists. The ultimate origins of Kanem, probably by the 7th or 8th century, lay in a union of herders, farmers, and nomadic peoples who may have continued trade and social relations that first developed from the time of the Garamantes and likely connected the region to lands to their east and north.
With the rise of the Duguwa dynasty, said to have begun under King Dugu in the 700s or 800s, the so-called "Zaghawa" rulers of Kanem, identified in external Arabic sources, ruled over a multitude of peoples in what was probably a decentralized state. It may have been similar to that of states ruled by other nomadic peoples in the Saharan region, like the Sanhaja confederation to the west. Unlike Saharan Berbers, however, early Kanem appears to have resisted conversion to Islam until the 11th century, when a few of the Duguwa dynasty leaders, according to the Girgam, converted. The ruling dynasty probably intermarried with women from different clans among the nomadic sub-groups, if Lange is correct, and likely drew revenue from tribute, raids, wealth in livestock and fees on trading caravans. Close ties via marriage between the ruling dynasty and various nomadic groups was probably key to ensuring their loyalty and protecting trade interests. Kanem was a significant trading partner for the provision of slaves to Ibadite Muslim traders based at Zuwila in the Fezzan, and, according to al-Bakri, included Muslims among their subjects at least since the fall of the Ummayad caliphs. A group of refugees of the Umayyads supposedly resided in the lands of Kanem, if al-Bakri's to be trusted. Intriguingly, stories of Umayyad refugees seeking succor in Nubia but failing to find it appear in histories of Nubia. Perhaps some of the Ummayads who sought refuge in Nubia made it to Kanem, possibly traveling west from Nubia or south from Libya? Early Kanem's kings, said to wear silk and woolen garments and possess no towns until the 10th century, may have been quite mobile, moving around their vast domains while ruling over a loosely structured state that protected trade interests and organized raids. They imported textiles, cloth, and other manufactured or luxury goods from the north in exchange for slaves.
Kanem's early kings, said by external sources to be "divine" to their subjects, and often secluded, were probably expected to redistribute some of their wealth to their dependents, and often counted their wealth in terms of livestock or camels. The state's dependence on slave trading likely necessitated some form of military organization, probably based on cavalry, camelry, and the archers mentioned in the Arabic sources. As the "Zaghawa" eventually were living in between Kanem and Nubia, and supposedly at conflict with Nubia, one would not be surprised if Kanem and its vassal states or peoples were raiding and trading far and wide between the Niger and Nile, perhaps playing a pivotal role in the development of trade routes or towns in the Darfur region by the 12th century, if al-Idrisi is reliable. Unlike the states to the west, such as Ghana and Kawkaw (Gao), al-Bakri's and al-Idrisi's descriptions of Kanem seem to indicate it was less known, perhaps received fewer visitors and traders. Al-idrisi's description of Manan and Njimi, two of Kanem's towns, suggest little commerce and wealth. The "Zaghawa" town to the east, en route to Nubia, however, was surrounded by villages and possessed some commerce, perhaps pointing to trade contacts with Egypt and Nubia and some kind of tributary or trade partnership with Kanem.
Unfortunately, without substantial advances in archaeological work in the Kanem region, which might one day identify Manan, Tarazaki, Njimi (the capital after Manan, when the Sefuwa dynasty took power) and other sites described in external Arabic sources, much of early Kanem remains shrouded in mystery. Their early towns were said to be constructed with reeds, so early Kanem towns probably did not use brick, clay, and mud-brick. But were their towns walled? Did their small towns have a separate quarter for Muslim traders? Were "casted" groups of blacksmiths already in existence? Did climate change place additional pressure on Kanem to move further south, perhaps contributing to the eventual relocation to Bornu? Was there a feudal-like system in place in which the king appointed officials or subordinates as local rulers over conquered territories in exchange for tribute? And was early Kanem's expansion tied to the appointment of relatives of the king to high positions in the court and provinces, paving the way for dynastic succession struggles?
One would assume the transition to Islam did not shatter or transform the foundations of the state, as the style of kingship and continued marriages with nomadic groups persisted under the Sefuwa rulers. Indeed, various descriptions of Kanem's kingship from medieval Arabic sources resonate with late 18th century accounts of Borno provided to Descourtilz by "Beurnon" Africans in Saint Domingue. Indeed, one of the reasons Borno kings sometimes took the effort to become learned was the association of education with supernatural powers, again connoting kingship with supernatural authority. It is possible the Kanembu and Kanuri were practicing their own form of a deeply ancient form of sacral kingship, common among Nilo-Saharan groups who were present in Sudan as well as Chad. It is possible that the prominence of queen mothers in the Borno girgam is also a legacy of past traditions of matrilineal descent, something found among the Tuareg as well as Nubia. While it is unlikely that the "divine" or sacral kingship of Kanem really was indebted to Nubia or ancient Egypt, but Lange has argued that the mysterious mune opened by a 13th century Muslim king, Dunama, may have been Amun. Palmer's Sudanese Memoirs also claimed that one of the mythical ancestors of the Kanembu clans was a man named Mune. And the term mani among "pagan" Zaghawa and Beli peoples was a "ram" kept in a cave with other sacred objects. Perhaps the mune opened by Dunama was something akin to a ram, which may have been deeply rooted in Nilo-Saharan pastoral sacral kingship, connecting the mai to ancient cattle cults? Either way, one suspects the king was associated with divine authority in some form. He was said to eat alone, only drink in the presence of high nobles, and speak to subjects through an interpreter while seated behind a screen or in a cage. Intriguingly, the "Duguwa" name survived after the Sefuwa came to power, but arguably became associated with a casted group, blacksmiths. Ethnographic studies complicate any simple association of the Duguwa with casted blacksmiths and hunters in Kanem today, but it does raise some possibilities. Perhaps the origin of the divine or semi-divine kingship of Kanem-Borno may derive from an early association of chiefs and kings with control of metal, forgers, and the "mysteries" and social separation of blacksmiths. Thus, the seclusion of the king may have had distant origins in the control of iron weapons, tools, and metals, indispensable for economic and military development that may have given the Duguwa dominance over other clans. An association of the king with both livestock and metals may have combined as sources of royal legitimacy and mystical meanings.
While the kings of Kanem adopted a fabricated Yemeni origin and became Muslims, many of its subjects were not Islamized until several centuries later. An Islamic superstructure was probably added to the state, and Islam and literacy may have led to the early development of schools and a limited bureaucracy. Kanem's relations with Muslim rulers in Egypt and the Maghreb were aided by the ruling dynasty's conversion, and the various pilgrimages undertaken by Kanem's mais undoubtedly put Kanem on an international scale. For example, the presence of a Kanemi poet at the court of the Almohads already suggests a degree of education and international connections. Dunama Dibalemi, the same Islamic king whose reign was described by Ibn Said al-Andalusi in the 13th century, wanted a reputation as an Islamic reformer and jihadist, ruling over a Muslim state while raiding pagan neighbors on the southern shores of Lake Chad. Among his other subjects were Berbers, supposedly Islamized by Dunama and used in his raids, according to Ibn Said. It was also during his reign that one finds the earliest references to Bornu and subject or vassal provinces along the shores of Lake Chad, as well as royal farms of the mai where sugarcane and other crops were cultivated. Although Ibn Said does not tell us if the laborers were royal slaves, it is likely the case that by the 1200s, Kanem's rulers owned vast estates of land worked by slaves of the crown. Indeed, even pre-Sefuwa rulers, such as king Arki in the 11th century, was said to have sent slave colonies to various sites in the Kawar region (perhaps for extracting salt?). If true, this may have been an early Kanem variant of the slave plantations of the kings of Songhai, or the plantations of 19th century Sokoto.
Ruling over a vast territory, directly or indirectly, required at least some degree of rudimentary bureaucracy. While Scott MacEachern argues for understanding the states of the region as concentric circles, with a primary core, tributary secondary circle, and an outer sphere of lands available for plunder or raids, is probably apt, it is possible that some of the titles and administrative functions of the Borno state were already practiced in Kanem. For instance, military commanders, feudal-like fiefdoms, and aspects of a regional economy based on the exchange of salt, textiles, slaves and ivory were probably already in place by the 1200s, and surely established by the 1400s when the Bulala usurpers (aided by the Tubu) drove the Sefuwa out of Kanem. Kanem's military organization may have been more efficient by the 13th and 14th centuries, including canoes or pirogues for use on Lake Chad as well as, perhaps, 100,000 soldiers. Kanem's kings had already extended dominion over the Fezzan and key trading posts of the Central Sahara by the 1200s, and were engaged in commerce and diplomacy with a variety of powers in North Africa and Egypt. The question of possible commerce and trading ties to Christian Nubia and the Red Sea may likewise indicate another dimension of the state's eastern extent, perhaps even explaining the origin of brick architecture for royal palaces, elite homes, and mosques. It is possibly the case that Kanem was also producing textiles for export to its Sudanic neighbors, as well as using bits of cloth for currency.
Thus, by the 13th century, Kanem was a vast state, probably decentralized and requiring some form of administrative organization that was likely the model for the Borno state of the Sefuwa in the 1400s and 1500s. One can assume some of the social and economic organization of Borno can probably be traced to Kanem, including its forms of social stratification, the differences between the peasantry and nobles, the role of the state in trade and production, and the organization of craft specialists in towns. It is probably the case that the brick architecture of Borno owes its origins to earlier uses of the same construction material in Kanem, perhaps originating in an attempt to architecturally mark the distinction between the homes of elites and commoners. Whereas in the past, when Kanem's king and subjects were said to live in homes of reeds, it is possible that successors to Dunama initiated brick walls and construction to further accent their differentiation. It also suggests they were no longer living a "nomadic" lifestyle of their forebears, preferring established residences that may have contributed to their declining control of nomadic subjects like the Zaghawa in the east or Tubus in the north.
Naturally, there is a danger in the using the ethnographic presence and historical evidence from the Borno period to reconstruct Kanem. But evidence of the breakdown of alliances with nomadic groups to the north can be found in the Tubu alliance with the Bulala in the 14th century. Additional evidence of friction from the Tomagra migration to the Tibetsi from Kanem in the 16th century similar points to conflicts within the original clans of Kanem. The question of Islam and religion may have played a role in this as many of Kanem's population were not Muslims, or only superficially so. The movements of populations from Kanem to Borno, probably part of state policy, also led to the creation of new ethnic groups like the Kanuri, who nonetheless can also be found in oasis towns and villages to the north (again, part of state policy). Clearly, conquests and intermarriage between Chadic-speakers around Lake Chad and Nilo-Saharan groups occurred, and may have contributed to the dynastic conflicts in Kanem after Dunama's reign, when descendants of various lines of the Sefuwa battled over the crown. The state's policy of granting mahrans to learned Muslims and awarding a great deal of autonomy to them during the Borno period may have already contributed to a weakening of state authority in Kanem over some of its provinces, just as ambitious officials and claimants to the throne also vied for authority. Of course, it could also very well be the case that the decline of Kanem in the 1300s owed more to over-expansion and reliance on a feudal-like structure of fiefdoms, which encouraged breakaway provinces or vassals as well as direct challenges to the authority of the king. Moreover, the opening of the mune may have further diminished the legitimacy of the Sefuwa in Kanem, perhaps explaining why former allies like the Tubu supported the Bulala.
Overall, the question of Kanem and its early origins remains a tantalizing subject. There is much speculation and, possibly, over reliance on external Arabic sources and the Girgam. While they help piece together some of the early history of the region and its socio-political organization, additional knowledge attained through archaeology is indispensable for gaining a fuller picture. Undoubtedly, this post itself has repeated or created some of its own speculative claims about Kanem, even suggesting that some of the features of Borno as described by Barkindo almost surely applied to Kanem by the 1100s or 1200s. However, re-reading the corpus of Arabic sources on West Africa, as well as "Oriental" sources on Nubia, point to interesting potential ties and relationships based on trade, commerce, ideas, and military conflict. Like the Gao state's wars with Kanem or possible conflict between Christian Nubia and the Zaghawa near the Chad-Sudan borderlands, there is so much to uncover in the history of the Lake Chad region. These undoubtedly help provide a fuller picture on the nature of the so-called Sudanic state and the impact of trans-Saharan and trans-Sudanic networks in African history.
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